Work As Usual
At the crack of dawn
At a chickens call
A cowgirl arises
Ready for all
A farmer at heart
An apple to the core
Applejack the honest
Reliable, hard-working, and more
Ready to go
Raring to go
But breakfast comes first
It’s healthy you know
After she starts her day
With a plate of oats and hay
She gets herself going
With work and not play
Tending the farm
Working the fields
Fixing the barn
Seeing what the crop yields
Gathering lots of apples
Apple tree bucking
All this work she tackles
And she keeps on trucking
A figure crests the hill
And heads deeper into the farm
But the farmer smiles
For the figure means no harm
She intercepts the figure
And looks him up and down
And just by looking at him
She knows he’s from out of town
“Howdy there, partner!
Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.
Best apples in Equestria,
And we ain’t no fakers!”
The cowgirl smiles pleasantly
The stranger smiles back
They shake hooves
And he answers with tact
“So I’ve heard,
And I was hoping to buy.
But it’d be just great,
If I could give your wares a try?”
“Well, sure Sugarcube.
Come and follow me.
I’ve got fresh produce,
Straight from the tree.”
And so the farmpony led
Deeper in they tred
The stranger unknowing
And the cowgirl carefully goading
They reached the barn
And the cowgirl swung around
Picking a tree and bucking
Then picking the apple that fell from the ground
The stranger takes it
Being sure to wipe any dust away
He bites into the succulent fruit
And swallows to say:
“These are great, as always.
Though one things not clear,
How do you make them so good?
That’s what I’d like to hear.”
The farm pony chuckles
The question is asked countless amounts
And each time presents an opportunity
And she takes this opportunity into account
“That right there is a secret
And well kept one to be honest,
But I’m feeling generous
So I’ll show you what makes our apples the best.”
And so she leads him into the barn
The stranger follows behind her
The door shuts and locks
Leaving them stuck in there
Neither of the two panic
For the stranger assumes it was meant
And it very much was
He just didn’t know the intent
“This here’s where the magic happens
We make our own fertilizer right there
And it sure does stink
But I’m sure you can bear.”
“The fertilizer certainly smells
As I’m sure you can tell.
But it smells like something dead
Or is that all in my head?”
The cowgirl chuckles darkly
Pulling a hidden object out of the hay
She makes sure it’s clean
Before turning to him to say:
“I apologize for that
I really do
But this fertilizer
Is not merely poo.”
“A body contains all the nutrients we need
And we’ve realized something wonderful.
If we put that in when we plant the seed
It greatly improves the crop and makes it tasteful.”
“That must be the smell
But don’t pay it any heed
You won’t have to worry anymore
Once I’ve done the deed.”
The stranger trembles in fear at her speech
For she had since revealed her object
A knife that had been cleaned with bleach
Making it clean and letting light reflect
He wanted to cry out
He wanted some help
But it mattered naught
If he uttered a single yelp
For they were deep in the orchard
And the barn muffled all sound
And no matter if he tried hard
His cries would be bound
The cowgirl lunged and he squealed
The knife plunging into his stomach and up
The body slumped and the knife clattered
The cowgirl left the body to cleanup
Washing her hooves in a nearby trough
And cleaning the knife in kind
She grins down at the body
Thanking chance for her lucky find
With her hooves cleaned of all trace
And the stranger dealt with easily
She leaves the barn at a quick pace
Getting back to her chores giddily
Moments later, she’s joined by a sound
The sound of joyful laughter
She looks up and around
Looking for the source to the noise
The owner makes themselves known
They come up on her and she pauses
They smile kindly at each other
The newcomer speaks up
“Hey Applejack! How’s work?”
Asks a pink party pony
Hopping in place giddily
Her eagerness definitely isn’t phony
“We just met our quota
Thanks to the latest resource we’ve earned.”
Applejack thinks back fondly
While her friend smiles, unconcerned
“That’s great to hear!
Say, you wouldn’t have seen my new friend?
He was headed here
But I don’t know where he went.”
“He arrived a while back
But he’s not with us anymore.
He departed in fact
If only you’d stopped by before.”
Her friend only frowned slightly
Then she returned to regular
Not sensing anything shady
Smiling and none the wiser
“Okay, I’ll keep looking
He couldn’t have got far.
Good luck with your working,
I’ve got a pony to search for.”
As her friend hopped off, aloof
And she returned to the task at hoof
She couldn’t help but feel satisfied
About the stallion that died
A twisted grin
And a merry tune
And Applejack keeps bucking
Long into the afternoon
She made sure to lock the barn
So no ponies will go wandering where they shouldn’t
And now she must wait
Though she almost feels like she couldn’t
At a giddy pace
The work speeds up greatly
The time is never a waste
And the work is done enthusiasticly
The day continues without interruption
And her work is finished with gumption
As she retires to bed after the days ordeal
She thinks on it’s mundane feel
It was just work as usual
And every weeks the same old routine
Eat, work, sleep, repeat
Even if she harbors a secret noponies seen
There at Sweet Apple Acres
With the best apples in Equestria
And Applejack will do whatever it takes her
To keep it that way